Wind Turbine Payback in Sumter County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Sumter County
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Sumter County, FL averages 4.54 m/s (10.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,580 kWh a year, worth $1,468 at FL's 15.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 68 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sumter County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sumter County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.54 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,448 kWh a year here against the turbine's 958, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 52¢/kWh, 3.4 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.54. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Sumter County is the 1,727th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in FL is Brevard County at 5.62 m/s, payback 39 years.
Month by month in Sumter County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.23 m/s and about 1,199 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.28 m/s and 298 kWh, so the best month makes 4.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Sumter County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.23 m/s | 1,199 kWh | $184 |
| February | 5.05 m/s | 990 kWh | $152 |
| March | 5.22 m/s | 1,193 kWh | $183 |
| April | 4.97 m/s | 1,012 kWh | $155 |
| May | 4.47 m/s | 780 kWh | $119 |
| June | 3.69 m/s | 419 kWh | $64 |
| July | 3.28 m/s | 298 kWh | $46 |
| August | 3.49 m/s | 365 kWh | $56 |
| September | 4.24 m/s | 644 kWh | $99 |
| October | 4.83 m/s | 966 kWh | $148 |
| November | 5.09 m/s | 1,080 kWh | $165 |
| December | 5.09 m/s | 1,116 kWh | $171 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sumter County averages 3.43 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.18 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.256, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,074 to 13,768 kWh a year, 95% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower. Why tower height decides it explains the shear behind these numbers.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 4.1 m/s | 7,074 kWh | 92 years |
| 30 m | 4.55 m/s | 9,610 kWh | 68 years |
| 40 m | 4.89 m/s | 11,816 kWh | 55 years |
| 50 m | 5.18 m/s | 13,768 kWh | 47 years |
Counties around Sumter County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Hernando County, averages 4.66 m/s.
- Lake County, FL: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 74 years (22 mi)
- Hernando County, FL: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 63 years (30 mi)
- Citrus County, FL: 4.21 m/s, 7,678 kWh, payback 85 years (33 mi)
- Marion County, FL: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 74 years (34 mi)
- Pasco County, FL: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 63 years (39 mi)
- Orange County, FL: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 64 years (47 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sumter County
Sumter County gets 4.96 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,448 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 958. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.5 times as much here as the turbine. Panel output assumes an 80% system performance ratio. Wind or solar runs the same comparison for every county.
How this is worked out
Wind is NASA's Power climate record, the 2001-2025 average at 10 m and 50 m for the county's centre, carried to 30 m with this county's own measured wind shear and spread into hours with a Rayleigh distribution. The turbine is a generic 10 kW, 7 m rotor machine with 10% losses. Cost is $10,000 per kW installed with no tax credit, because the federal one ended in 2025. One county-centre number cannot see your hilltop or your tree line, so treat it as the starting point for a site survey, not a substitute. The full method and its weak spots are in how the numbers are made.